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沃尔玛将关闭健康医疗业务,已经在寻找买家

JASON DEL REY
2024-07-05

4月底,沃尔玛(Walmart)宣布将关闭51家沃尔玛健康中心。

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图片来源:THOMAS SIMONETTI—BLOOMBERG/GETTY IMAGES

4月,沃尔玛突然宣布关闭其医疗和牙科诊所网络,这一消息震惊了医疗保健界。在沃尔玛内部,该网络曾被视为公司在医疗保健领域光明前景的蓝图。

但据《财富》杂志了解,从那时起,沃尔玛就开始在幕后向潜在买家抛出橄榄枝,希望他们能够接管已经开始关闭的沃尔玛健康诊所。

多位知情人士向《财富》杂志透露,其中一些谈判涉及健康保险公司,包括《财富》50强巨头哈门那公司(Humana)。目前尚不清楚谈判是否仍在进行中,但沃尔玛在谈判过程中明确表示,它正试图通过出售或其他收购安排来收回其在这些诊所中的部分巨额投资。

沃尔玛和哈门那公司的发言人均拒绝置评。

围绕沃尔玛健康诊所的关闭和出售谈判的进展顺序,让一些参与谈判的人感到困惑。4月30日,沃尔玛宣布将结束其最近五年的医疗保健实验,关闭51家诊所,这些诊所最初被标榜为“第一家将初级和紧急护理、实验室、X射线和诊断、咨询、牙科、验光配镜和听力服务都集中在一个设施中的诊所”。该公司在公告中称,“报销环境充满挑战,运营成本不断上升”。正如《财富》杂志独家报道的那样,实际情况可能比这更复杂。

但至少有部分出售谈判是在宣布关闭之后才进行的,这可能会降低沃尔玛在任何出售谈判中的筹码,因为整个世界——包括沃尔玛健康的患者和员工——都已经开始新篇章了。沃尔玛健康诊所原定于6月28日星期五关闭。

尽管如此,沃尔玛上周宣布将其虚拟医疗业务MeMD出售给医疗保健科技公司Fabric时,还是收回了一些资金,具体金额未透露。但沃尔玛并没有宣布出售实体诊所,这些诊所通常位于沃尔玛门店旁边。

业内称为“支付方”的几类保险提供商可能认为沃尔玛诊所交易有一定意义。其中一些公司已经开设了自己的医疗诊所。例如,哈门那公司通过其CenterWell和Conviva业务为老年人开设了数百家初级保健诊所。其他没有这样做的医疗保险公司可以通过收购沃尔玛的设施来打入这一领域,从而避免从一开始就不得不建立自己的诊所。

沃尔玛对这一领域的兴趣至少可以追溯到1991年,当时沃尔玛创始人山姆·沃尔顿(Sam Walton)亲自向员工感叹该行业的高成本。

在他去世的前一年,他对沃尔玛员工说:"我们必须让医院和医生符合规范,并控制相关费用。”

在那之后的几十年里,该公司在该领域经历了各种各样的实验,原因是该公司一直在努力应对高管更替和突破性战略方面的挑战。2019年,该公司推出了最新举措:建立了迷你护理超级中心,在同一设施里提供医疗和牙科预约服务,以及X射线和实验室检测服务。

正如沃尔顿在近30年前的周六晨会上所要求的那样,沃尔玛健康承诺定价透明且合理。沃尔玛健康最初的宣传重点是,为那些没有任何保险或优质保险的人提供负担得起的服务;看医生的费用为40美元,看牙医的费用为50美元。但没过多久,这种模式就出现了裂痕。

今年5月,沃尔玛健康的一位前营销主管告诉《财富》杂志:“我们有很多机会为美国农村和医疗服务不足的地区提供负担得起的医疗保健服务,但如今这一机会已经一去不复返了。”

但也许,另一家公司会继续尝试,在同样的建筑里提供服务,只是在前门贴上新品牌名称。(财富中文网)

译者:中慧言-王芳

4月,沃尔玛突然宣布关闭其医疗和牙科诊所网络,这一消息震惊了医疗保健界。在沃尔玛内部,该网络曾被视为公司在医疗保健领域光明前景的蓝图。

但据《财富》杂志了解,从那时起,沃尔玛就开始在幕后向潜在买家抛出橄榄枝,希望他们能够接管已经开始关闭的沃尔玛健康诊所。

多位知情人士向《财富》杂志透露,其中一些谈判涉及健康保险公司,包括《财富》50强巨头哈门那公司(Humana)。目前尚不清楚谈判是否仍在进行中,但沃尔玛在谈判过程中明确表示,它正试图通过出售或其他收购安排来收回其在这些诊所中的部分巨额投资。

沃尔玛和哈门那公司的发言人均拒绝置评。

围绕沃尔玛健康诊所的关闭和出售谈判的进展顺序,让一些参与谈判的人感到困惑。4月30日,沃尔玛宣布将结束其最近五年的医疗保健实验,关闭51家诊所,这些诊所最初被标榜为“第一家将初级和紧急护理、实验室、X射线和诊断、咨询、牙科、验光配镜和听力服务都集中在一个设施中的诊所”。该公司在公告中称,“报销环境充满挑战,运营成本不断上升”。正如《财富》杂志独家报道的那样,实际情况可能比这更复杂。

但至少有部分出售谈判是在宣布关闭之后才进行的,这可能会降低沃尔玛在任何出售谈判中的筹码,因为整个世界——包括沃尔玛健康的患者和员工——都已经开始新篇章了。沃尔玛健康诊所原定于6月28日星期五关闭。

尽管如此,沃尔玛上周宣布将其虚拟医疗业务MeMD出售给医疗保健科技公司Fabric时,还是收回了一些资金,具体金额未透露。但沃尔玛并没有宣布出售实体诊所,这些诊所通常位于沃尔玛门店旁边。

业内称为“支付方”的几类保险提供商可能认为沃尔玛诊所交易有一定意义。其中一些公司已经开设了自己的医疗诊所。例如,哈门那公司通过其CenterWell和Conviva业务为老年人开设了数百家初级保健诊所。其他没有这样做的医疗保险公司可以通过收购沃尔玛的设施来打入这一领域,从而避免从一开始就不得不建立自己的诊所。

沃尔玛对这一领域的兴趣至少可以追溯到1991年,当时沃尔玛创始人山姆·沃尔顿(Sam Walton)亲自向员工感叹该行业的高成本。

在他去世的前一年,他对沃尔玛员工说:"我们必须让医院和医生符合规范,并控制相关费用。”

在那之后的几十年里,该公司在该领域经历了各种各样的实验,原因是该公司一直在努力应对高管更替和突破性战略方面的挑战。2019年,该公司推出了最新举措:建立了迷你护理超级中心,在同一设施里提供医疗和牙科预约服务,以及X射线和实验室检测服务。

正如沃尔顿在近30年前的周六晨会上所要求的那样,沃尔玛健康承诺定价透明且合理。沃尔玛健康最初的宣传重点是,为那些没有任何保险或优质保险的人提供负担得起的服务;看医生的费用为40美元,看牙医的费用为50美元。但没过多久,这种模式就出现了裂痕。

今年5月,沃尔玛健康的一位前营销主管告诉《财富》杂志:“我们有很多机会为美国农村和医疗服务不足的地区提供负担得起的医疗保健服务,但如今这一机会已经一去不复返了。”

但也许,另一家公司会继续尝试,在同样的建筑里提供服务,只是在前门贴上新品牌名称。(财富中文网)

译者:中慧言-王芳

Walmart stunned the healthcare world when it suddenly announced the closure in April of its network of medical and dental offices once viewed internally as a blueprint for a promising future in the space.

But since then, Walmart has pitched potential buyers behind the scenes on taking over the Walmart Health clinics that the company has already started to shutter, Fortune has learned.

Some of the talks have involved health insurance companies, including Fortune 50 giant Humana, multiple sources familiar with the situation told Fortune. It is not clear if any of the talks are ongoing, but Walmart has made it clear through the process that it is attempting to recoup some of its massive investment in the clinics through a sale or other takeover arrangement.

Spokespeople for both Walmart and Humana declined to comment.

The order of developments surrounding the closure and sale discussions of the Walmart Health clinics has puzzled some of those around the talks. On April 30, Walmart announced that it was ending its latest five-year healthcare experiment by closing its 51 clinics originally billed as “the first to put primary and urgent care, labs, X-ray and diagnostics, counseling, dental, optical, and hearing services all in one facility.” The company cited “a challenging reimbursement environment and escalating operating costs” in the announcement. As Fortune exclusively reported, the reality was likely more complicated than that.

But at least some of the sale talks only occurred after the closure announcement, potentially reducing Walmart’s leverage in any sale talks since the whole world – including Walmart Health patients and employees – had started to move on. The Walmart Health clinics were scheduled to close on Friday, June 28.

Still, Walmart was able to recoup something when it announced last week the sale of its virtual care business, called MeMD, to the healthcare tech company Fabric for an undisclosed sum. But there was no announcement involving the physical clinics, which are typically located alongside Walmart stores.

Several types of insurance providers, known as “payers” in the industry, could make some sense for a deal for Walmart’s clinics. Some of these companies already run medical clinics of their own. Humana, for example, operates hundreds of primary care clinics for seniors through its CenterWell and Conviva businesses. Other health insurance companies that don’t could look to break into the space by taking over Walmart’s facilities and avoid having to build out their own clinics from the start.

Walmart’s interest in the space dates all the way back to at least 1991, when founder Sam Walton himself lamented to employees about the industry’s high costs.

“We’ve got to get the hospitals and doctors in line,” he told an audience of Walmart employees the year before he died. “We’ve got to get those charges under control.”

In the decades since, the company has gone through a variety of experiments in the sector as the company has struggled with executive turnover and a breakthrough strategy. In 2019, the company unveiled this latest initiative, with the launch of these mini supercenters of care that offered medical and dental appointments, plus X-rays and lab work, all under the same roof.

Walmart Health promised transparent and affordable pricing, just as Walton had requested at the Saturday morning meeting nearly 30 years before. Walmart Health focused its initial pitch on the affordability of its services for those lacking any or good insurance; doctor visits would cost $40 and dental appointments $50. But it didn’t take long for fissures in the model to emerge.

“There was so much opportunity to bring access to affordable health care to rural and underserved America and it’s gone,” a former Walmart Health marketing leader told Fortune in May.

But perhaps, another company will continue the attempt, with the same buildings but a new brand name on the front door.

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